LORETTO, Pa. – Five years ago, Ashley Bingham was a senior on the Saint Francis bowling team.

The former Ashley Howe-Yorio, a Westmoreland County native, helped the Red Flash to an NEC Tournament Championship as a sophomore in 2013-14 and a regular-season crown in her senior year. Individually, "Howe-Yorio" is a name that can be found throughout the Red Flash record book.

Now, five years after her final collegiate game bowled, Bingham is back in Loretto, as Saint Francis fans hope to see her add some records to the head coaching section of that record book.

The return was a no-brainer for one of SFU's most accomplished bowlers.

"I love the sport, I love being here, and I love the atmosphere of this campus – this is home to me," said Bingham.

Bingham's success in competition at Saint Francis – and her entire experience as a Saint Francis student-athlete – helps the Red Flash coach in relaying the things that make attending SFU special.

"It helps a lot to be able to relate to recruits," said Bingham. "A lot of players realize 'you've bowled here, you've lived here, you've gone to school here.' I know the importance of academics here and I know the expectation of bowling success. I'm looking to build a program that wins NEC Championships and earns bids to the NCAA Tournament."

Year 1 as a head coach has its list of challenges, but that list has required an additional page or two for anyone taking over in a new job in the last 14 months driven by a pandemic. Despite that, Bingham saw significant progress in her first year back in Loretto.

"They put in the effort during the year and they're putting in the effort as we go into the summer," said Bingham. "They have the same goals as me – they want to win NEC Championships and go to NCAA Tournaments. They now know what it takes and what they have to do to succeed."

Bingham's second year is another opportunity to grow as a program – this time with the addition of an important element to tournaments with fans in attendance and wearing red as SFU competes.

"Everybody is pumped to have our fans in the back, supporting us again," said Bingham. "It really brings on another dynamic of the sport. You get more pumped up, you get more excited. It's going to be another new experience, but it makes competing even more exciting."

As someone who has competed for the Red Flash, cheered them on, and now serves as Saint Francis' head coach, Ashley Bingham knows what it takes to bring a winning bowling program to Loretto.

Bingham and the team are working to bring championships to Saint Francis. They look forward to taking that next step in 2021-22 – this one with the Red Flash Family behind them in-person.

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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.